04/25/2011 Sometimes, your body just tells you it’s time to relax.]

My Meals.

Last night after my food binge, I passed out on my couch, only to occasionally be woken up by my dog, he promptly had pillows thrown at him, and yells from me of “need more sleepy, go away!”  The last thing I recall is watching five minutes of an episode of Modern Marvels about wine, then waking up just enough to stumble to bed, and pass out fully clothed, and on top of the duvet, (why is that I know this word).   I woke up again at 2:43 to sounds of my dog whiny, at which I responded by throwing a sock at him, which he responded to by climbing into my bed and laying down on my neck.

When I finally woke up for good it was 7:00 AM, I had slept thru the 3 alarms on my phone, the two alarms on the iPod alarm clock, and the one alarm on the obnoxious kids clock which screams at you in Korean, to wake up before mom kicks your ass.  I’m sure my neighbor whose bedroom is adjacent to mine hates me.  The walls are thick enough you don’t hear too much, but I can hear her when she’s opening and closing drawers in her closet.  So to be hear a Chicken Cluck at you in Korean probably penetrates the walls just enough to turn someone to homicide. 

Rolling out of bed this morning I was sure that I was bloated, and going to step on the scale to an angry 2-3 lb swing in the wrong direction.  To my surprise it was exactly the same, of course I waited to weigh myself after all of nature’s morning evacuations. 

I took Benny for a 2 mile walk, and then went to the gym.  Today’s AM cardio session was an amped up version of Cardio Intervals.  By accident or a miscalculation I ended up doing 12 increases every 30 seconds, instead of the 8 you are supposed to do, once I reached the top the first time I came back down every 30 seconds for 11 intervals.  At the bottom I did two sprints, and started the process all over, I decided that I would go back up 10 intervals, coming back down I came down 1 less then I went up, again at the bottom I did two sprints.  It’s on the third run of doing intervals that I did the correct 8 increases that I was taught at the ranch.  I decided at the top of the 8 steps I would hold it for 5 minutes.  Then again I stepped down 7 steps, at the bottom of the cycle I held it for another 5 minutes.  I took a 30 second rest, and did 5 sprints which brought me to a rounded hour of cardio. 

My Cardio Log Here.

I think at some point either this week or next I am going to change machines for a little bit, because I am developing my strength quickly on the Arc Trainer, working at incline levels of 20, and resistance level of 100 is becoming easier, as my heart rate doesn’t ever get higher than 150 bpm.  The first time I go up that high my heart rate exceeded 160 bpm.

When I finished I stretched quickly, and had to get on with my day.  My legs still file like a ton of bricks; I am in dire need of a deep tissue massage.  I can feel it is taking more effort this week to move my legs than last week. 

It’s turning into a fiasco to try and get a deep tissue massage.  Apparently everyone in Northern Virginia has a masseuse because all the one’s I’ve tried calling are booked until next week.  I think I would have an easier time trying to get a couple of ladies of the night to give me a private donkey show.  I’m going to try again in the morning, I need to have my legs loosened up, it’s effecting how I feel about myself, I’m becoming cranky.  Who knew that a guy, who had never had a massage in his life, has now replaced his addiction for diet soda with the ominous need of a deep tissue massage?

My evening personal training session today was with Zap.  He and I have reached a mutually agreeable situation in reference to working out, he’s a firm believer in adding muscle tissue to help lose weight, and I’m a firm believer in getting my heart rate up and doing cardio intensive workouts.  Last week we decided that we would cycle our workouts, two weeks of cardio oriented workouts, and the third week heavy weights with lower repetitions.  Today’s workout was the start of the heavy lifting. 

Zap focused today’s workout on the chest and biceps.  After a warm-up of a Miracle Mile on the Precor Elliptical, he had me start with the incline bench press with dumbbells.  My first set was done with a 65lb dumbbell; I did 8 reps, then moved down to 55 lb dumbbells and did 4 sets of 15.  After the incline dumbbell press, we lowered the bench to a flat position, and proceeded to flat dumbbell bench presses with the same weight.  I did 4 sets of 12. 

From the dumbbells we moved into doing an incline straight bar bench press.  My first set was done with 35 lb plates, I did 15 reps.  The next set involved changing the weight to 45 lb plates, where I did 3 sets of 12.  Zap lowered the bench again to a flat bench position.  We again worked with the 45 lb plates, and did 4 sets of 8.  

At this point my chest was on the verge of failure, I could barely raise my arms, yet he still had me work on chest exercises.  We moved to a seated cable machine, with the weight stack set to 50 lbs, I did seated chest presses.  A single rep involved first pressing the right arm, then the left, and then the two together, I did sets of 7 and on the final set I did 10 reps.  In between each set Zap had me do cable curls, 40 lbs and 25 reps.  

The last chest exercise Zap had me to was a decline chest press with 30 lb dumbbells; this was supersetted with standing curls with the same weight.  I did 20 reps in each set of decline bench presses, and 25 reps with each set of curls.  My final exercise involved my abs, seated on a bosu with a 10 lb medicine ball, I had to extend the medicine ball over my head lean back as far as I can, and then crunch forward throwing the ball to zap.  I did 2

  sets of 50.

Going into my third week back home, I am finding it’s tough waking up in the morning; I don’t think I’m getting the same type of rest I was in California.  It’s really hard rolling out of bed, I’m not sure if it’s my bed, or something about my environment. 

The workout out with Zap today was the least I’ve sweated in any workout in more than a month, but I think it’s what I needed yesterday.  I’m not on the verge of burnout, but I need more variety in what I’m doing.  It doesn’t help that I’m in DIRE need of a deep tissue massage.  I have one scheduled tomorrow at 1:00 PM so hopefully it’s exactly what the doctor ordered.